A dove of peace with missiles: Russia demands clarifications following US-Turkey arms deal for Ukraine
Moscow is demanding clarifications from the US and Turkey after documents exposed in Congress revealed plans to transfer US-made weapons from the Turkish military to Kyiv. The deal reportedly includes 70 ATACMS missiles and thousands of cluster munitions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued an official demand over the weekend for clarifications from Washington and Ankara, following the exposure of documents in the US Congress indicating an intention to transfer US-made weapons, currently held by the Turkish military, to Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova published a sharp response on the ministry's website, attacking the planned move and warning of its consequences.
"The multidimensional damage from such supplies is inevitable," Zakharova said, adding that the repercussions would extend far beyond the battlefield in Eastern Europe.
According to her, the advanced weapons shipments would not be able to "seriously affect the development of the special military operation" in favor of Kyiv, but would certainly cause serious damage to Moscow's bilateral relations with the United States and Turkey.
The arsenal in question, which was revealed in official documents and reported by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, is defined in Moscow as a "Pandora's box" that could prolong the conflict. The deal includes 12 MLRS multiple launch rocket systems, more than 2,500 unguided cluster rockets, 47,000 203mm cluster artillery shells, and 70 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles. These missiles are capable of reaching a range exceeding 300 kilometers and threatening the depth of Russian territory.
In her statement, Zakharova questioned the transparency of the process, emphasizing that the circumstances of the transfer "remain very contradictory." According to reports, the complex transfer is not planned to be carried out only through government channels, but through a convoluted network of private contractor companies. Among the companies involved in the project are the Turkish companies MKE, ASFAT, and ARCA Savunma, the Bulgarian company VTIC International Ltd, as well as two American companies: Pansophico and Patriot Defense Group.
Moscow expressed particular resentment over the perceived hypocrisy of these powers. Zakharova noted that both the United States and Turkey claim to play a central role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine while striving for a political and diplomatic solution. Combining conciliatory rhetoric of peace with the continued flow of offensive and lethal weapons to Kyiv "inevitably undermines mutual trust," the spokesperson emphasized. The criticism was directed specifically at senior officials in Ankara, who have stated more than once in the past that their country refrains from transferring "lethal" military equipment to the Ukrainian army.
